Including clover and herb species in grazing forages – effects on milk production, milk processability and milk fatty acid profile of late lactation dairy cows supplemented with grass silage and concentrate

Summary

Abstract Milk production declines as dairy cows enter late lactation, resulting in reduced milk quality and negatively impacting milk processability, such as rennet coagulation time (RCT), milk pH and ethanol stability (ES), leading to seasonality issues for milk processors. Multispecies forages, containing grass, legume and herb species, require lower N inputs and are of interest to dairy farmers. However, little is known about the effect of grazing multispecies forages on milk processability characteristics in late lactation dairy cows. Forty-five autumn-calving dairy cows in late lactation were allocated to 1 of 3 grazing forages; perennial ryegrass (PRG; Lolium perenne ), perennial ryegrass and white clover ( Trifolium pratense ) (PRGWC), and a 6 – species multispecies forage (MULTI) c